Brooklyn Region Theater Party

Are you looking for an easy Associate fundraiser for your close-knit region or chapter? Follow our report below about a successful Theater Party event sponsored by the Brooklyn (NY) Region Associates.

My thanks to Gail Hammerman, current National Secretary and member of the Brooklyn Region, and Shelli Feldman, co-chair along with her Associate husband Ron Feldman, for providing me with the pertinent information for this article.

Here's how they did it. Gail, the current National Secretary, and a past Brooklyn Region President, is a member of the local Performing Arts Center Board and was privy to advance notice of their programs.

She heard that Michael Feinstein, entertainer extraordinaire, was scheduled to perform at Brooklyn College in October 2015, with his Broadway Cabaret show celebrating the 100th anniversary of Frank Sinatra's birth. Michael Feinstein has multiple platinum awards, two Emmy nominations, and five Grammy award nominations to his name, and is a world-renowned entertainer – in other words, a big draw!

Brooklyn Region Associate Chairs, husband and wife team Shelli and Ron Feldman, took it from there. The Associates sponsored the program, with proceeds targeted for the Men's Health Initiative.

The Region purchased a block of tickets via group sales. They then charged the full ticket price to attendees. The profit was the difference between the full price paid by the attendees and the discounted group ticket price. The Region net about $12-15 per ticket, and ultimately sold over 55 tickets. Participants also had the option to pay an additional $150 which entitled them to attend the opening Gala.

Of course, the evening would not be complete without a Hadassah pitch. The chairs arranged for a "Shout Out" from the stage by the emcee – a welcome to Hadassah and praise for their wonderful work. In addition, participants were given goody bags chock full of Hadassah information.

According to Gail and Shelli, it was a nice social evening, and everyone had a wonderful time. For more information about this event, please contact Shelli Feldman Associate Chair, at shellif302@gmail.com.

Here are some notes about how you can easily bring this type of event to your area:

Find a chair. For a social event, it is very effective to have a Member/Associate couple.

Find a show. One with mass appeal works best.

Order a minimum number of tickets and arrange so that you can get more.

Order the block of tickets via Group (reduced-price) sales so that you can charge full price to the attendees and net a profit.

“One of the strategic supports that today I wish to disclose, share, and thank in a special way, is that of Israel--a country with which Mexico has always maintained an important political, cultural, and economic relationship,” Mexico City Secretary of Health Armando Ahued Ortega related in the aftermath of his country’s earthquakes.

When disaster looms, we're reminded of our most basic, most essential human needs — water, food, shelter, safety — as we remember the Jewish principle pikuach nefesh, which puts saving a life above all else, even observing the Sabbath